3.4. Intergration of the proposed process into dissolving pulp production
In a prehydrolysis-kraft pulping process for dissolving pulp production,lignin that dissolved into black liquor in the step of kraft pulping is usually combusted for energy production as shown in the process flow diagram (Fig. 3).
In this context, the recovery of hemicellulose that dissolved into PHL in the step of prehydrolysis is of great importance for biorefinery concept.
By the proposed process, HDSs in PHL can be efficiently recovered.
This process can be well integrated into the dissolving pulp production because the lime and carbon dioxide that are needed in the liming and carbonatation steps can be conveniently obtained from the lime kiln, an indispensable infrastructure for chemical recovery in kraft pulping mills (Fig. 3).
In addition, the recovery of lignin-derived phenolics in the process of HDSs purification can be envisaged as an interesting
contribution to develop an woody biorefinery platform.